Selfridges had to ensure that guests could not access malicious sites or view inappropriate content while using the in-store WiFi network.

The implementation was totally painless from our perspective. We now have a secure network that provides our customers safe Internet access while they browse and shop in Selfridges.

Alasdair Morison

IT Manager

The Challenge

Guest WiFi in a retail or services business is now expected. The number of internet enabled smart phones and tablets grows daily and users expect reliable secure Internet access everywhere they go.

Customers will often support stores that provide Internet access. When guests are connected to in-store Wi-Fi, this represents an opportunity for communication but also a security challenge.

For Alasdair Morison, IT Manager, the top security dilemma was how to safely provide WiFi internet connection without putting the customers or Selfridges network at risk.

WiFi access is convenient for the customer but it also enables improved, customer service and facilities the communication of new sales initiatives.

For these reasons Selfridges decided to offer WiFi to guests but made a firm decision that they would also ensure the WiFi was secure, managed and would protect guests when accessing the Internet connection. ‘We had to ensure that guests could not access malicious sites or to view inappropriate content while in the store’ said Alisdair Morison, IT Manager.

The IT department at Selfridges supports all 4 stores. According to Morison “We’re a busy IT department. The aim is to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. The smaller the administrative burden, the more time we can devote to operating the business”.

Strong security was a top priority when introducing guest WiFi. “Given the high standards of diligence and security we set ourselves internally, we wanted to do a thorough job with WiFi security across all our locations” said Morison.

Deploying secure WiFi access in a retail environment posed special challenges. With several stores across the UK, a centralized management tool is necessary to control guest Wi-Fi access at all these locations. “We needed the ability to rollout one filtering policy across all locations and be able to monitor that WiFi activity on an ongoing basis”.

Protection from Legal Liability – Selfridges were very cognisant of the fact they needed to protect the store from legal liability.

The Solution

With the help of TitanHQ, Selfridges set up WebTitan Cloud for WiFi to help protect visitors using WiFi in their stores from dangerous web threats. These threats range from inadvertently visiting a dangerous malware laden site or other inappropriate or illegal sites.

“We decided to start with our London store but the solution had to provide the flexibility to expand WiFi protection to our other stores and to support changing security policies in the future in a cost-effective manner”.

“It’s just so easy!” said Alasdair Morison, IT Manager. “All we had to do was add our external IP address to the GUI and change our DNS forwarders. As soon as a we were set up on WebTitan WiFi it showed up on the management console”.

“Because the store doesn’t have the technical staff to support or maintain a complex system themselves, we wanted a solution that was exceptionally easy to deploy and manage from any location.”

For Selfridges the WiFi-based approach allows them meet all their requirements. It requires no management on their part, it is very scalable and very quick to deploy. These are very important factors for an organization that is growing rapidly and have a very large throughput of people using WiFi on a daily basis.

“We made a fundamental decision to prevent our guests from accessing parts of the Internet that are dangerous and ethically or legally questionable. In terms of the filtering policy we put in place we took into account the fact that children also visit our store so our filtering policy is child friendly.

Alasdair’s team looked at various enterprise Wifi security solutions before choosing WebTitan WiFi. “We looked at a bunch of solutions. I was really taken aback by the price point, features and functionality we were going to get with WebTitan WiFi,” he said. “Other solutions didn’t have all the features and functionalities we wanted; they could do some of what we now do with WebTitan WiFi, but at a higher cost.”

“We knew that if a guest accessed porn on the WiFi connection and a child or other person could inadvertently view that screen, we would be legally liable. If someone was carrying out illegal activities using our WiFi connection e.g. Illegal downloads, we would also be legally liable. All of these aspects were considered and addressed when deciding on our WiFi filtering policy”.

The Results

The pragmatic approach Selfridges took when choosing WebTitan WiFi is also evident in how they use the service. They’ve adopted one filtering policy across the 4 locations that’s centrally managed from London. ” WebTitan WiFi responds exactly to our requirements. It requires no management on our part, it is very scaleable and extremely quick to deploy”. Selfridges can now ensure that guests will not be infected with malware or be subject to other attacks while using their WiFi. They have also protecting the Selfridges brand reputation as negative press from a malware or phishing attacks on the network can be extremely damaging.

Central Management

Selfridges now have a central management for all devices at 4 locations

It's Easy & Fast

We spent less than half a day configuring the system.

Unlimited Filtering

Over 200 million visitors to the store each year – all protected if they use the WiFi Network